Electronic Stability Control

The biggest problem that Wheego was having the last time we looked in on the company was getting the Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to sign off on temporary exemption to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards Regulations (FMVSSR) for its two-seat, all-electric Wheego Whip LiFe car. NHTSA granted the small electric vehicle company a waiver for an Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system that is good until the end of the year. Wheego is in the process of developing an ESC for the l

Stability control was made mandatory on passenger vehicles for this current model year, but it's still not a requirement for semis and busses. But that could soon be changing, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has proposed requiring the technology on all new large commercial trucks, motorcoaches, and other large buses.

Monday's rumor became reality Thursday when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released its proposal to require auto manufacturers to install electronic stability control as a standard feature in all new cars.

Ford Motor Company has announced that it will make electronic stability control a standard feature on all of its models by the end of 2009. Although SUVs and rollovers have taken the brunt of the criticism, other traction-related crashes have piqued the interest of federal regulators. As we reported earlier, some in Washington have proposed a timeline, by which all vehicles sold within the United States will be required to come standard with some form of a stability control system. Ford maintain